Medical help doesn’t come quickly to me

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I’ve been suggested to seek urgent medical help for my mental struggles but help doesn’t come instantly for me. Even when I saw a psychiatrist a few weeks ago and she suggested I try ECT or TMS, I didn’t get either or even had an appointment for either option set up. Unless I am not doing something right, I don’t know how to get quicker help for my mental health.

I don't know the system where you live but here it would be... "normal" :/
Unless your life is at urgent risk, no one hurries and procedures take forever.

Please be careful with ECT. Do some research on the side effects. It usually causes memory loss and cognitive problems, sometimes very badly. Carrie Fisher wrote a book about her positive experience, the good and the bad. (Shockaholic!) https://www.bmj.com/content/364/bmj.k5233 discusses some positive and negative studies. And so forth.

I don't know how to get ECT fast, but if you have BlueCrossBlueShield and want to find a psychologist or psychiatrist with open appointments quickly, you can search for nearby specialists on the BCBS website and then go through, calling all of them and asking when their next appointment is.

What steps have you taken, and/or what do you see that may be stopping you? Personally I find it's daunting to start on this stuff... but ---of course--- I make a list and start at it. I sat on ASD assessment for a month or two (would I choose the "right" one), but finally moved forward (and chose an adequate one).

I’ve gotten appointments and they take forever to actually happen. Even after talking to whoever I got an appointment with, any sort of treatment isn’t given right away and I wait another long stretch of time.

It takes awhile to get help unless you’re a danger to yourself or others. Then you go inpatient.

Have you tried lots of different meds and combinations? Usually, ECT is considered a last resort.

But why do people suggest I still seek help?

Yes and my brain is resistant to them. They don’t stop me from being anxious, depressed about not having a girlfriend, and they don’t motivate me to do different things.

If ECT or TMS don’t help me in getting a girlfriend, I don’t want to live anymore.

When people tell you to seek help, they mean schedule an appointment and talk to a psychiatrist or counselor. No one expects that you’ll get in right away.

Cognitive behavioral therapy could help you get a girlfriend, but I wouldn’t count on ECT for that. ECT is solely for severe, treatment resistant depression. It’s not going to help you with social skills.

You need to be seeing a good counselor who works with you on social skills and gives you practical suggestions and specific things to try.

Ah, I got you. For perspective, my (NT) dad is switching heart drs --- his current dr made a negligent medicinical mistake and my dad is weakened from it. My dad's new dr could see him in three months. The family insisted my dad get something sooner; he made numerous phone calls, talked to nurses and is seeing a partner in the practice in the meantime, it took a lot of back and forth and he had to stress the seriousness of his situation (severe muscle weakness) --- which is hard to do b/c his instinct is to minimize it ("I can manage").

I support you in receiving the care you need and deserve. I am sorry it's such a hardship in itself.

I just hate how this year will end with me still single and depressed. I just want a year where I feel like I will finally have a girlfriend and I won’t suffer anymore.

Did I mention about my standing in a hotel room on my birthday at age 27 crying my eyes out? It was 20 years ago and I remember it like yesterday. I have compassion for that "me". I'd tell her: hang in there!! (which I did)

Marknis, hang in there.

It depends on where you live. If there are enough wealthy people around it is likely that preferred private medical services exist for people able to pay cash and not get insurance companies involved. You find out about these doctors via referrals as their names aren't in the directories that normal people use.

Unfortunately I think this is just how things work when it comes to mental health. I had to wait months for my TMS treatment to begin, and now am waiting for a sleep study. I only got ECT quickly because I was self-harming and had suicidal thoughts and went there from inpatient.

I encourage you to think a lot before you get ECT. I hear it works for some people, but for me it did nothing but cause memory issues that make me even less suited to having most jobs than I was before and affect my everyday life.

TMS helped a lot with my depression. I still feel depressed sometimes, but it's not as bad, I'm no longer suicidal, and I've only self-harmed once in the past three months.

CBT may help as well, but it's important to go into it with an open mind. It's much harder to learn the strategies and stuff if you go in assuming it won't work, you have to make sure you put some effort into it for it to do any good. It didn't do much for me because I wasn't in a good mindset for it at the time I had it. But it is also the least invasive and probably least risky option if you're looking at CBT, TMS, or ECT.

I don't know if any of these will help you get a girlfriend - I had all three and haven't ever had a boyfriend - but if any of them will help ease your depression, that will at least make you feel a bit less horrible, and it's entirely possible that you will both have more motivation and look like you're feeling better, both of which can only help. I'm sorry things are taking so long, and I sincerely wish you luck in your quests both to treat your depression and to find a girlfriend.

https://www.cosmopolitan.com/health-fit ... ait-times/
It Can Take Weeks for College Students to Get the Mental Health Help They Ask For. That’s a Seriously Dangerous Delay.

I saw the psychiatrist again and she mentioned that the TMS doctor had been trying to contact me but he was calling the wrong number every time.

Did you give her the right number?